Chelsae Petrovic is putting a lid on future coffee meetings with constituents after dozens of people turned up at one of the events to protest coal mining.
Petrovic, the UCP MLA who represents Livingstone-Macleod, said in a statement on Monday that future “coffee with the MLA” tour events have been cancelled.
Petrovic said the difficult decision was made to protect staff and customers where the meetings are held.
Livingstone-Macleod includes High River and parts of Foothills County. It stretches south to the United States border and includes the Crowsnest Pass.
Petrovic has held coffee with the MLA events in several communities within the constituency boundaries.
The constituency is ground zero for potential coal mines after the Province lifted a moratorium on their development along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains.
She said the events were held to “meet people where they are,” but that recent gatherings go beyond the intent of the meetings.
“Unfortunately, some have used these gatherings as a platform for town-hall style debates, which was never the intent,” she wrote.
She said information suggests the events would continue to be disrupted.
Blaine Moen attended one of the events in Claresholm last month and said he hoped to talk with his MLA about potential coal mining on the nearby eastern slopes.
There were 30 to 50 people there, inside and outside of the event, with those outside holding protest signs, Moen said.
He said he quickly got the impression that Petrovic wasn’t interested in hearing what the group had to say.
“Instead of listening, hearing our complaints, asking us what we think and learning our stories, she was trying to teach us,” he said.
Among other concerns, Moen said he worries about impacts to water quality and water availability if coal mining goes ahead.
An email to the Livingstone-Macleod constituency office got no reply.
